Necessity
by missallyrose
Summary: When she left the Underground, Sarah's life became a whirlwind of vivid fantasies and so-called hallucinations, and she swore never to return. But when a horrible accident threatens her fragile balance, she must seek the help of the one she runs from: TGK
1. Prologue

**Full summary:**After she left the Underground, Sarah's life became a whirlwind of vivid dreams and so-called hallucinations, and she swore she would never return-or speak the name of The Goblin King if she could help it. But when a horrible accident threatens to tear apart the whole fragile balance Sarah created for herself, she is forced to relive buried memories and seek the help of the one she was running from, Jareth, the Goblin King.

* * *

><p>A hunk of twisted metal. The salty twinge of tears. The detached sounds of sobbing, pleading. The bitter taste of blood. The dreaded, heavy silence that pervaded the passenger seat.<p>

It wasn't supposed to happen. Horrible things like this didn't _actually _occur; they were only Hollywood sob stories, horror tales to warn stupid, headstrong girls. And that's what it all was at first-a scary story-the two oncoming orbs of bright white were just glaring spotlights, the horrifying splinter was just a soundboard, the tears were just eye drops, the crimson splotches just paint.

But then who was the boy, who was the actor next to her, portraying Toby in the throes of death? His face was smashed up against the airbag, a halo of indigo surfacing around his beautiful blue eyes. His eyes were fluttering in a half-lidded gaze as tacky red liquid seeped into his fair eyebrows. His hair was tousled, his arm at an odd angle. And with a sharp jab in her heart, she realized it was all real.

As her jade green eyes focused, everything was too clear. Too sharp. Too clinical, too cold. There were no tears trying to slide down her cheeks, her mouth was too dry. She swallowed.

They were too far away- the sirens. She knew they were trying to help, but she also knew they couldn't. They didn't _really_care. They didn't know Toby. They weren't coming fast enough. And then there was the slamming of a door. She turned her head slightly, her lazy gaze traveling up the trampled hill back up to the road. There was a man in a baseball cap and a stained flannel approaching her mangled Honda, which lay smashed and crumpled at the foot of a ditch. With a start she realized that this was the man that had hit them. He had caused all of this to happen. But he didn't care either. Not enough to stop in time, not enough to put snow chains on his big, slippery tires. And because of him, Toby was beaten and bleeding, breathing far too faintly for her comfort. She whispered her brother's name, her voice sounding like bone-dry leaves rattling across an autumn street. He didn't answer.

And then she knew. The sirens were too far, this man was too far, she was too weak-but there was one person who wasn't. There was only one person who existed in any world that could save Toby right then. So with a moaning sigh, Sarah said again the words that had changed her life forever.

"I wish the goblins would take you away. Right now."


	2. The In Between

Sarah struggled to lift the thin skin of her eyelids, feeling as if anvils were tied to each one of her lashes. She moaned in her sleep—pleasantly—and twisted her hands into the velvet sheets surrounding her. She thought it was velvet, at least, but it felt lighter, weightless, like captured clouds. Smiling slightly, she buried her face in the fabric, relishing the soft feel against her cheek. It was as if angel wings were beating gently across her cheeks, butterflies flitting around her hair. It was heavenly. And it was easy to believe that she had dreamed it all the night before, that she would open her eyes to see the stucco ceiling of her low-budget student apartment and hear the sounds of Toby gently snoring through the wall. And then, if she looked out of her window, she would see her Honda, all in one perfectly undamaged piece, waiting faithfully for her in the driveway.

Just the thought of waking made her want to choke, and she closed her eyes firmly against the bright room. But the searing light beaming through her eyelids seemed to be much brighter than the sun, and though she couldn't see it, she sensed that it was so blinding that every single shadow in the room had been chased away. In fact, the light seemed to be leaking into her pores and intoxicating her bloodstream with a warm, fuzzy tingle. She curled up tighter, not fighting the heavy sleep that awaited her.

_Sarah! By the gods, Sarah, wake up!_

The voice was far away, distant and echoing, as if she was hearing everything through a tin can. She scrunched her eyebrows together in concern, but still couldn't bring herself to open her eyes. It was physically impossible to even try.

But the voice kept yelling, getting louder at more desperate, and the sound tickled the lobes of Sarah's ears unpleasantly. She began to feel the light seep out of her and she shivered, feeling as cold as snow. She clutched at the velvet-like sheets, mouthing the word "no" and letting out a little moan.

_Please! Sarah, please!_

The voice was broken and slurred, stained by unspoken tears. Sarah felt the cold drops fall onto her cheeks, making her skin tingle from the chill. All the light had left the room now, leaving her veins seemingly empty and the air around her cold. She felt like she was standing naked in the midst of a snowstorm, despite the blanket she was clinging on to.

The cries continued, and Sarah could feel herself begin to be ripped away from the cozy bed and pulled gradually into the once-gleaming abyss. "No, stop, stop it!" She tried to say, but her lips only stumbled over the words, her voice missing. "Please!" She tried again, and this time she managed a breathy wheeze. But no words.

Sarah was then flung, not gently, into the shadowy crevasse beneath her, mouth gaping in a soundless scream, arms flailing blindly. Velvet sheets and all.


	3. Meetings

When Sarah woke up, she felt like every single one of her senses had been sharpened like dull knives and all at once everything was clearer. She could feel every wisp of air enter her lungs, each tickle as it brushed back over her parted lips. She was hyper-aware of the thumping pulse in her wrist and throat, each strand of hair on her head and each pore of her skin. It was as if every cell in Sarah's body was zinging with energy, and Sarah knew exactly where she was—no other place had ever made her feel so alive.

She was in the Underground.

Her eyes flew open, but she saw nothing. Blackness seemed to shroud her eyes, masking her from her surroundings, but she had a feeling she wasn't lying on the dusty hill where her journey had first started five years ago. The surface beneath her back was soft and perfectly fluffed, supporting the arch of her spine and cradling her ribs—which she now realized were aching.

Sarah gasped as she sat up, the sudden movement made her want to retch. Pinpricks poked her eye sockets lazily, like an annoying child starving for attention. She dug at her eyes, trying to root out the pain. Blinking, she looked around, but saw nothing.

Her heart began to race as she rubbed her eyes again, hoping to see her surroundings once again, but it failed. Again. Again. Again. Again. Images of sly-looking fae shone in her mind's eye, grinning evilly, their pointed ears sharp as daggers. Did he do this? _Would_ he do this?

Sarah clutched at the air, hoping to find some handhold that would connect her to normalcy, to the way things used to be. But nothing had ever been normal for Sarah. Not for the last five years. Not ever, come to think of it.

"Well, it seems that our Sleeping Beauty has come back to join us."

Sarah froze; even the blood in her veins turned to stone. The voice was satin, smooth and decadent as the syllables bounced across her skin. She turned her head in the direction of the voice, knowing very well who it was without even needing to see. The Goblin King had entered.

It felt as if Sarah's mouth was sewn shut, but the silence was taken for impudence. "What, no hello?" The king said testily. The quiet seemed to deepen. Sarah gaped like a fish, sucking in air and trying to form words.

Finally, she managed a hoarse whisper. "How long have I been here?"

Jareth seemed to smile, she could hear it in his inflection. "You must really like to sleep, love. You've been unconscious for six days. This is the seventh."

Sarah did a double take, jolted forward as if she was going to vomit. It was as if the Devil's invisible hand had punched her in the stomach, forcing her to freefall back to reality. But being stuck in a fairy-tale land could hardly be considered reality. Toby could be dead. He could have been bleeding out in that damn car while she was here, sleeping in a feather-soft bed. With another jolt, she realized just where she was probably sleeping, the room that would have the satin sheets and gilded headboards.

The King's Chambers.

She dryly whispered her brother's name, and the Goblin King responded without delay. "In the guest room. He is quite well. Faring better than you are at least."

For the first time she since had woken up, Sarah breathed a gusty sigh of utter relief. She smiled slightly, but then a new thought dawned across her features. She straightened up, her voice wavering.

"Why is everything black?"


End file.
